And Then There Were Ten More
by Ohemmgeeit'sAlex
Summary: A descendant of the late Judge Wargrave continues his work on Shipwreck Island seventy years later. Will the morbid history of the island in 1939 repeat itself in 2009?
1. Prelude

_Prelude:_

_Ten little Sailor Boys going out to dine;_

_One choked his little self and then there were nine. _

_Nine little Sailor boys sat up very late; _

_One overslept himself and then there were eight. _

_Eight little Sailor boys traveling in Devon;_

_One said he'd stay there and then there were seven. _

_Seven little Sailor boys chopping up sticks; _

_One chopped himself in half and then there were six. _

_Six little Sailor boys playing with a hive; _

_A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. _

_Five little Sailor boys going in for law; _

_One got in Chancery and then there were four. _

_Four little Sailor boys going out to sea; _

_A red__ herring swallowed one and then there were three. _

_Three little Sailor boys walking in the zoo; _

_A big bear hugged one and then there were two. _

_Two Little Sailor boys sitting in the sun; _

_One got frizzled up and then there was one. _

_One little Sailor boy left all alone; _

_He went out and hanged himself and then there were none._

There is was again. The rhyme. One little rhyme changed ten people's lives forever.

Now it's going to change ten more.

On August 8, 1939, ten guests arrived to Shipwreck Island. By August 11, 1939, they were all dead.

On August 8, 2009, ten more visitors will come to the island. And if all goes to plan, they'll all be dead by the 11th of August.

Why?

In 1939, the murderer killed nine other people he invited to the island according to that nursery rhyme. It sounds mad, but it worked, and all of them were deceased by the time the boat came.

In 1939, the murderer was never brought to justice. He committed suicide before anyone could come and arrest him.

In 1939, Judge Lawrence Wargrave's confession was found in a bottle cast into the sea.

Judge Wargrave was also my great-grandfather's brother.

Let me explain; He had a brother named Louis Martin Wargrave. He had daughters who got married and their last names changed, which is why my name isn't Wargrave.

Anyway, after the Shipwreck Island Murders in Devon, Louis Wargrave was at his brother's house cleaning and looking through his belongings. In the safe in his study he found a paper written write before his voyage to the island. In it he stated his plan to carry out the ultimate justice, to sentence the guilty that the law could not touch. He also said after his death, he does not want the memory of the Shipwreck Island Killings to disappear and be forgotten. Judge Lawrence Wargrave wanted to live on after his death. He wanted the murders to continue, if that meant people thinking about the man who was clever enough to plot such a massacre, even long after his death.

That document has been passed down to generation to generation. When I first read about it, I was stunned. Such a brilliant idea! Such a perfect murder! No one else agrees, but he didn't do anything wrong!

No, those people he killed were murderers, not victims. They deserved to die. He was a judge. They escaped justice. If they were caught, they would have gotten the death penalty. That's all that the judge did, give them the death penalty.

I became fascinated of the idea. Then it hit me like a bolt of lightening.

He didn't want people to forget about him. There must beeople who are guilty of murder but have never been caught before these days too.

So why don't I continue his work?

Why don't invite ten more unlucky people to Shipwreck Island?

I already have a list of names, which I'm included in, of course.

**Vanessa Anna Newton**

**Benjamin**** Edwards**

**Abigail Edwards**

**Nathanial Gavin Perry**

**Rita Gabriella Gonzalez**

**Evelynne Alexandra Tresscott**

**Ryan William Parker**

**Carson Cooper**

**Damian Matthew Morse**

**Samantha Rachel Stewart**

Now I must go. I have to write a few letters from the U..


	2. Author's Note

_ Author's Note:_

_ Hello! If you're reading this thank you so much! This is my first story and I'm going to try to continue with it! I've started writing the next chapter, but first I need to plan the whole story in my head. _

_ I totally forgot to do a disclaimer on the top of the page, and since I'm a newbie I have no idea how to edit a story. So here goes:_

___**Disclaimer: Agatha Christie had the awesomely morbid mind to think of such a creepy and amazing mystery. I do not own And Then There Were None. Sadly. **_

_ Anyway, if someone could tell me how to edit a story, that would be great. Especially because the last line was supposed to say U.N. Owens, not U.._

_ Oh well. =D_

_Review if you're awesome!_


	3. Ten Little Sailor Boys

Chapter 1: Ten Little Sailor Boys

________________________________________________________________________ Vanessa Anna Newton woke up late one afternoon in September. She got dressed and started to brush her hair by the mirror. Her reflection had long reddish brown hair and dark bags under her eyes, like she hadn't slept at all. She heard her mother call her from downstairs.

"Nessa, are you up yet? You have a letter addressed to you in the mail."

"Kay, be right there." She yelled back.

Once downstairs, she saw the letter on the table. She read:

_Dear Vanessa,_

_How are you? It's been so long since I've seen you! You probably __don't remember me. We went to school together at Saint Peter's. You were my French partner. Anyway, a relative of mine recently passed away, and I've inherited a piece of property. It's this nice 1920s house built on this beautiful island in Devon. To celebrate, I've invited a bunch of my friends to a party on Friday, August 8, at 6:30 pm, to stay over the weekend. There will be a fancy dinner, music and dancing, and very nice guest rooms. There is an absolutely astonishing view of the ocean that you can swim in. On the back of this letter are directions how to get there. I do hope you can make it! _

_-Ullisa Natalie Owen_

"What is it, sweetheart?" Mrs. Newton took the letter and read it. "Well, are you going?"

"I guess. It sounds nice."

"But will you be all right? It is by the sea."

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'm over that. That was a long time ago."

"All right. Just be careful. If you feel uncomfortable, just call me."

"I will, Mom."

Evelynne Alexandra Tresscott was at the doctor's office. Dr. Carson Cooper's office, in fact. She was in the waiting room bored, looking at her cell phone. The Doctor came out of his office about to take her in, when suddenly he heard a ring tone. He stood at the door while Evelynne took her call. The Doctor was uninterested until he heard "August 8 at Shipwreck Island? Sounds good." Shipwreck Island? He had just received a letter yesterday from somebody named Owen, asking him to come to a party on Shipwreck Island on the 8th of August.

After she had hung up, Dr. Cooper asked, "I couldn't help overhearing you about what you said. I heard you mention Shipwreck Island, and I was curious because I was just invited by a Mr. Owen to a Shipwreck Island on August 8th."

Evelynne looked shocked. "What a coincidence! That's so bizarre."

A Hispanic woman in her 30s who was in the waiting room looked up suddenly. "Did you say Shipwreck Island? I was invited too! I'm Rita Gonzalez. "

"You were?"

_"Si, on_ August eight.

"How odd! Almost like fate!" exclaimed the doctor.

And it was fate.

On August 8, at five o'clock, Abigail Edwards boarded the train with her brother Benjamin. The twins had received a letter a week ago to arrive at an island in Devon, which was about an hour away from their home. They were to be at a party from someone named Owen. What the party was for, they didn't know. The Edwards twins were never one to pass up the opportunity to have a good time.

In the background, it was foggy and cloudy. Abby looked out the window.

"It looks like it's going to rain."

"That's just bloody great."

"At least this person Owen paid for the tickets. What was his first name again, Benjamin?"

"I don't know. The signature was smudged."

"Well, the whole thing is weird if you ask me. I don't even remember anyone named Owen. They better have some vodka at this party."

The compartment fell silent for the rest of the ride.

* * *

Ryan Parker slammed his car door shut. He walked to a small trio of men who were standing at the entrance of a boat rental service.

"Hello, is this the boat that's going to go to Shipwreck Island?"

One of the two boatmen answered, "Yep. This fellow here's going to. The others haven't come yet."

A dark haired man replied, "Hey. I'm Damien Morse. I'm a guest too."

"I'm Ryan Parker, nice to meet you."

The two men shook hands as a curly blonde came running toward them.

"Hello, I'm Samantha Stewart."

"Ah, yes. You're on the list." Said the second boatman. "You're the only three whose here yet. There's what, ten of ya?"

"I guess."

By six o'clock, a Professor Nathanial Perry showed up, along with the Edwards, Evelynne, Vanessa, Rita, and finally Dr. Cooper.

"That's it then. Now, in the boat's a GPS, so you don't have to do a thing. Just relax and talk with each other. The boat will automatically stop when it reaches the island. If anything goes wrong, there's an emergency manual. You're leaving on Monday, correct? We'll come by on Tuesday morning just in case. Understand?" said the first boatman.

The guests nodded.

"So why are you guys going there of all places?" the other boatman questioned.

"Pardon?"

"Well, no one's been out there in years. There was some nasty business there a while back."

"Really? What kind of business?" Prof. Perry inquired.

"I forget was it was exactly. Anyway, I'm sure it was nothing. Just forget about it and have a nice trip."

Once the boat had gone, the two boatmen went inside the shack. About twenty minutes later, one of the boatmen came out with a record book.

"Look at this, Jim. On August 8, 1939, someone named Narracott who was in charge of the boats at the time wrote that he took ten guests to Shipwreck Island, **and they never came back. **They were all murdered by some raving madman. It's the exact same thing, Jim! He couldn't rescue the guests, because of a huge storm that lasted three days. There's going to be rain tonight and tomorrow! We've got to do something!"

"Calm down, Toby. Let me see that."

Jim handed him the book. He read it for a couple of minutes then gave it back.

"Alright, let's say there's another lunatic out there, which would be such a big coincidence. The book says there were lured there by an Owen. Right now, the island is owned by someone named Sally Florence. That doesn't sound like U. N. Owen, does it?"

"No, but-

"Even if there was a Mr. Owen, we can't do anything about it. That was our last boat to rent out, and the next boat that's returning is on either Monday evening or Tuesday morning. The people have their own boat, so if anything happens they can just come back here. I'm sure at least one of them has a cell phone. They could just call for help. Finally, the rain isn't even going to be that bad, just normal rainfall. Sunday and Monday will be crystal clear." Explained Jim.

"But the island doesn't have signal at all during rain. Even in perfect weather, most of the time it still doesn't work. If something happens, they have a slim chance of getting help!"

"Relax Toby. You're freaking out too much. I'll bet you nothing will happen."

"Alright." Toby signed. "I still get a bad feeling about this though. It's like something really horrible is going to happen....."

_** A/N: And that's the end of chapter one! The reason it took so long was because after I posted the prelude, I went to Arizona for a week. Then when I got back, I wanted to write the final confession, so I already know how everything turns out. **_

_** I hope people read this. I'll try to post once a week, but I'm very busy at the moment.**_

_** Disclaimer: Agatha Christie owns ATTWN. Not me. **_

_** Thanks guys. Reviews make the world go round! ;D**_


	4. Going Out to Dine

Chapter 2: Going Out To Dine

The guests arrived safely to Shipwreck Island.

"So, where's this Owen?" Ryan Parker asked, clapping his hands.

That's the question they were all silently asking themselves. They were in the old-fashioned '20s house and waiting for any sign from their host.

"Here's a note." Rita picked up a slip of paper from the coffee table in the living room.

The note read;

_ Hello guys! There's been a slight change of plans, so I won't be at the house until tomorrow morning. In the mean time, help yourself! There're a couple of pizzas in the fridge, and some wine and beer in the parlor, if you want. Just make yourself at home and pick a room. Again, sorry for the change of plans. _

_Owen_

"Well, that settles things. I guess we can start unpacking." Said the doctor.

And so they did.

Prof. Nathaniel Perry was unpacking in his room he had chosen. While he was packing away a shirt in his dresser, he noticed a plaque on the wall. It read:

_May we remember the poor victims of Shipwreck Island. Let them forever rest in peace. August 8-11, 1939. _

It continued on to ten strangers' names Prof. Perry had never heard off. Weird, he thought. What ten victims? What happened on those days in 1939? Whatever it was, didn't concern him. He went right on packing, without another glance at the plaque, or at the taprestry by it….

Around seven-thirty, the guests started eating dinner. It was very delicious, and while eating the conversation was about general pleasant things, until Evelynne Tresscott asked Vanessa Newton a question.

"Don't I know you somewhere?"

Vanessa almost choked on her soda. "Excuse me?"

"Didn't we go to school together, high school or college?"

"I'm not sure. What was your name again?" Please don't let her remember me, she prayed silently.

"Evelynne Tresscott, but everyone called me Eva. You went to Saint Peter's, didn't you? Weren't you my roommate?"

Great, she remembers me. Vanessa answered, "Oh, right. I completely forgot, I'm so sorry. My mind has been so forgetful lately."

"Oh, it's fine. It was a while ago anyway, and I probably look different now than I was in college." It was true. Evelynne looked thinner and paler than Vanessa remembered. Her naturally blond hair had been dyed brown. She was wearing heavy eyeliner and black eye shadow. She looks completely different, like a ghost. If I hadn't recognized that name, I wouldn't have known it was her.

"Well, that's an interesting coincidence." remarked Samantha Stewart.

"Do you want to know something even more interesting?" Dr. Carson Cooper leaned forward in his chair. "I'm a doctor, in case you didn't know, and two of my patients are Evelynne and Ms. Rita Gonzalez."

"Really?" Ryan Parker looked at Rita who was sitting next to him. She nodded.

"It is a popular office, and Eva and Ms. Gonzalez do live close to it." The doctor added.

"Huh. I wonder if anyone else here knows anyone, because I sure don't." Damien Morse gave a little chuckle.

"I don't either." Said the professor quickly. Perhaps too quickly, if anyone else noticed.

As the dinner ended a chilling voice was projected throughout the room. This voice would affect the lives off all the ten visitors on Shipwreck Island.


	5. One Choked His Little Self

_** One Choked his Little Self:**_

Suddenly, a cruel voice pierced the room:

_ The ten of you are charged with the following indictments: _

_ Dr. Carson Sean Cooper, on October 2__nd__, 2005, you murdered your fiancée, Elizabeth Madeline Granger._

_ Samantha Rachel Stewart, while visiting America, Senator Timothy Joseph Cardinal died on Christmas Day in 2001 because of you._

_ Benjamin and Abigail Edwards, Jessica Olivia Newmann was killed on May 15, 1997, as a result of your actions._

_ Vanessa Anna Newton, on May 8, 2004, you murdered Ellen Lamport, and her child Beatrice. _

_ Damien Matthew Morse, you are responsible for the deaths of Stephanie Lillian Garbo, Amanda Ofenski, and Stacy Hoffly in 2000._

_ Evelynne Alexandra Tresscott, you killed your boyfriend, Justin Kyndall, on June 10, 2004._

_ Professor Nathanial Gavin Perry, on November 6, 1989, you murdered your mother, Julia Lorraine Perry._

_ Ryan Parker, you killed Jack Gregory, Samuel Tellerman, and Cole Weiss on August 21, 2007. _

_ Rita Gabriella Gonzalez, you caused Rosa Jimenez to commit sucide on January 26, 2007. _

_ Prisoners at the bar, anything to say in your defense?_

Silence. After about a minute, Benjamin was the first to speak.

"What the bloody-? What was that?"

"Is this a joke? Because it's not funny!" Rita looked on the verge of tears.

"Some idea of a joke. The nerve! My fiancé died accidently. The suggestion that I…I…." Dr. Carson Cooper was stunned.

"It's not true. Benny and I had nothing to do with Jessica's death." Abigail said curtly.

"That's a lie! Not true! I didn't even know anybody named Lamport!" Vanessa appeared very shaken by the accusation.

"My mother died of old age! She had a weak heart! That's all, I swear!" the Professor shouted.

"I don't know what this is all about." Samantha Stewart said, in an odd, high-pitched voice. "But I won't stand for it."

"I guess I'm the only one who admits they're not a saint." Ryan said casually, like he was talking about the weather. "I did kill a few guys a couple years ago. I guess those were their names. I never found out.'

"What? How can you just say that, so cheerfully? You just admitted you killed three men!" Vanessa looked faint.

"Give me a break lady, it was self defense! I was in a bar one night, and these three guys started picking on me, looking for a fight. They were going to beat me up, so I pulled out a pocketknife. I was just going to threaten them with it, but then this heavy guy started to throttle me, so I just defended myself. I guess I stabbed the guys too deep."

'I'm just going to say this once." Evelynne Tresscott stood up from the table. She seemed nervous. She fidgeted with her hair as she said: "Justin Kyndall was my boyfriend in college. He was horrible and abusive. He was crazy. He tried to hurt me once, and I snapped. I hit him in the head with a statue wile he was trying to slap me. I didn't mean to kill him, but I don't regret it. He deserved everything he got. I am by no means a murderer." She sat back down.

Eveyone looked at Damien Morse, who hadn't spoken at all. "What?"

"Did you kill those girls?" the Professor asked.

Damien signed.

"I'll be honest. I had…relations…with those women. I didn't tell them that I had HIV, and they caught it. One of them died, and one of them's in the hospital. I don't know what happened to the third one. Though luckily, so far I've been fine with no symptoms." He said this as though everyone was extremely concerned about his well-being.

"So…you just let them get it and left them to die? Just like that and you don't even care?" a horrified Rita asked.

"Why should I?" It's not my problem. Aww, don't worry about me honey. My health's pretty good right now." Morse continued, misreading Evelynne's look of disgust as anxiety over him.

"Creep." She muttered under her breath, glaring at him.

"Alright! Let's get back on topic. So the recording was true for three people. Wouldn't it mean that it would be true for all of us?" Ryan asked standing up.

"No!" Several people shouted at him.

Ryan sank back down, holding his hands. "Okay, Okay. Never mind then. Can I ask why Owen invited you wonderful, darling people without getting my head bitten off?"

"I got a letter from the mail from someone called Ulissa Natalie Owen, saying that we went to school together." Vanessa replied. "Hey, Evelynne, do you remember her?"

Evelynne shook her head. "I was just going to ask you that. I got a phone call wile at the Carson's office from her too. And please, call me Eva."

"I was there. I heard the phone call. I received a letter from Owen too, for a party. I wasn't sure if I should go, until I found out that Eva and Miss Gonzalez were going to. I didn't want to not know anybody." Dr. Carson Cooper broke in. The rest of the guests had similar stories.

"Great. We were all lured here by some psycho who's probably is going to blackmail us all." Eva groaned.

"Owen's not going to be blackmailing me or Benny. We never did anything wrong!" Abigail cried, grabbing Benny's arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot the saintly Edwards were in our little group." Eva sneered at her. "I know about you. I used to overheard some classmen at Saint Peter's who went to your school talking about how their older brothers and sisters used to go to wild parties thrown by the Edwards twins, and how they wished they could go too all the time. I knew that one of them told me how Jessica Newmann completely worshipped you guys, and would follow you along like a puppy! Next thing you know, she ends up dead. Not suspicious at all!"

"Shut up! You're just like Perry! Always meddling around where you don't belong! He always knew we were blackmailing Newmann t-" Benjamin was cut short by a kick from Abigail.

"What was that about Mr. Perry?" Samantha Stewart asked interested.

"I used to teach at their high school." Prof. Perry said. "I recognized them, but I wasn't going to say anything before Owen spoke. While taking a major test to go on to college, I had reason to believe that Miss Newmann cheated. I saw her and the Edwards arguing a lot afterward. A few days later, Miss Newmann crashed in a tree and died. The police found a note in her car saying that they knew she cheated and wanted $150 by that tree before nightfall. I thought that the Edwards blackmailed her, since Newmann started avoiding them, which never happened, and always looked scared and nervous. I could never prove it though."

Everyone looked at the twins.

Abigail glared at her brother. "You're the worst liar ever, it's pathetic."

Benjamin cowered in his seat.

Abigail said rudely, "Fine. I admit it. We were trying to blackmail her, but I guess she was so freaked out she crashed herself into a tree. It was an accident. Not murder."

"Yeah, but if you weren't blackmailing her, she wouldn't have drove to the tree and crashed." Dr. Carson Cooper said knowingly.

"I'm sorry, was I talking to you?" Abigail said coldly.

"Hey, let's change the subject." Eva interrupted before the doctor could reply. "We need to get off this island. Some weirdo is stalking us and knows all about us. He or she must be crazy."

"I don't think we should leave right now." Said Samantha. "It's about 9:05. It's too dark out. Why don't we all go tomorrow morning?"

"Good idea. I don't think we're in any immediate danger. We're probably going to be blackmailed however." Vanessa spoke up.

"Well, I'm not giving any of my money to Owen! I'm not guilty of any crime!" Rita replied.

"Just curious, am I the only person who doesn't know anybody here?" Ryan asked.

"No, me too." Damien and Samantha and Rita said.

"I just noticed my beer is warm. I'm going to need some more ice in it. Mine melted. " Damien signed dramatically. "You know, it would be great if someone could get me some more ice."

When everyone looked as they could care less, Damien signed again and took a sip from his drink.

It took a few seconds for the guests to realize what was happening. A few moments later, Damien Matthew Morse was slumped in his chair, dead.

_** A/N: Hi guys. Thank you for anybody reading or reviewing. Sorry I hadn't been posting that much, but now it's summer so more time for writing! **_

_** Disclaimer: Agatha Christie owns all. Not me.**_

_**BTW, I hate Damien Morse. So much. **_


	6. And Then There Were Nine

_**And Then There Were Nine:**_

"Is he dead?" Rita asked horrified.

"Oh my god, god, god!" Perry was holding his head in his hands, muttering to himself.

"He's dead! Poisoned, by the look of it." Dr. Cooper examined the body.

There was a stunned silence. No one had liked Damien Morse, but they weren't expecting the man to die.

"I can't believe it. It's like something out of a movie!" Benjamin cried.

"We need to call the police." Vanessa whimpered.

"What do you think I'm doing, Newton?" Abigail snapped, cell phone in her hand. "Ugh, no bars. There's no service. It won't work."

"Clever observation, Edwards." Eva sneered.

"Eva, don't be sarcastic. We have a serious problem." Dr. Cooper remarked.

"Really, I never could have guessed." She stopped though when the doctor gave her a look.

"We probably can't have any signals because of the rain. We should double check though with another phone-

"Mine's not working either." Ryan Parker said.

"Neither is mine." Samantha Stewart answered.

"Right then. So we should probably move the body to his room, then tomorrow morning we can leave on the boat and report it to the police. In my opinion, Morse was murdered. He didn't seem like the type to commit suicide, but there was definatly something in that glass."

"You think one of us killed him?" Rita said shrilly.

"If four, well, five of us admit to killing before, why couldn't you guys?" Ryan replied.

"Did anyone see someone put anything in that glass? Vanessa asked, pointing to Morse's glass.

The other guests replied no.

"So then whoever killed Morse had to put something in his glass before dinner started." Vanessa concluded.

"How though?" Rita asked.

"Owen!" They turned to Abigail. "I bet this Owen person poisoned him! Maybe he put something on his glass alone!"

"Excuse me." Samantha spoke up. "I've an idea. Right before he died, he said something about the ice in his drink had melted. What if Owen poisoned the ice in Morse's glass alone? If the poison was in the ice, and the ice melted, then the poison would go into the liquid, thus poisoning Morse." She said this all very cheerfully.

The guests stared at her.

"Just how do you know this, er…" Benjamin asked.

"It's Samantha, and I'm a journalist. You hear about cases. There was something like it in Scotland a few years back."

"Let's check the refrigerator in the kitchen. Maybe they'll be more ice if that theory is true." Benjamin announced.

The nine visitors walked into the kitchen. Abigail reached in the freezer and took out the ice cube trays.

"Well, doctor?"

Dr. Cooper picked up a tray and sniffed it. "Smells like bitter almonds. Cyanide, no doubt about it."

"I'll, um, help bring the body up, but I don't think I can do it alone." Professor Perry said.

"I'll help." Said Ryan Parker.

"Tomorrow, before we leave on the boat, why don't we search for Owen? He or she must be on the island somewhere? We can take them to the police then?" Rita asked.

"I don't like the idea of having to go on a whole boat ride with a murderer. Can't we just go to the police and have them find Owen?" Vanessa replied. The others agreed and went upstairs to sleep, while Ryan and Professor Perry took Morse to his room.

This was so unfair. It was Abby's idea, not mine. She just pressured me into it. I thought it was wrong, but I never thought Jessica would die. Abby didn't even understand how horrible and guilty I felt afterwards, just told me to shut up about it and never tell anyone. Now to be reminded of it and have everyone on the island know was too much. They'd probably report it to the police and I'll go to jail and my life will be ruined.

"Are you tired?"

Benjamin turned to see Samantha on his balcony.

"Excuse me?"

"It's almost midnight, but I guess a lot of people can't sleep."

Benjamin looked away and faced the garden outside from above.

"Yeah."

"You should stand up to her."

"What?"

"Your sister. She bosses you around a lot, doesn't she?"

"How do you know?"

"I'm good at reading people. Like when I'm interviewing people, I can usually tell when they're lying."

Benjamin studied her. She had large, pale, blue eyes that seemed to be reading his mind. She was wearing odd clothing too: An oversized red vest that fell to her knees, a yellow and purple skirt, and an orange jacket with blue Uggs. Her voice was cheerful and calm, despite what happened just a few hours ago.

"That's nice." He said, turning away.

"You're not the only one who's still awake." Samantha pointed beyond Benjamin. Standing outside the doctor's room, Eva and Carson seemed to be in deep discussion when they noticed the two staring at them. Upon that, Carson pulled Eva's arm and dragged her inside the room.

"Well, that was rather odd, but people think I'm odd, so I suppose I can't talk." Samantha said.

"Yeah, it was."

"Like I said before, you need to stand up for yourself. She's not the boss of you, even though she acts like it. I think she likes being in charge."

"That she does. She's the bossiest, nastiest girl in the world." Benjamin ranted, talking louder and louder. "I wish she would have died instead of Jessica Newmann!"

"You shouldn't say that. You shouldn't wish anyone dead. Everyone has a good thing about them. Take me for example. A lot of people were horrible to me, and yet I find one good thing about them, and that calms me down. You should try it sometime."

Benjamin was bewildered. "You don't seem like the type to be here."

"Want to hear my story?" Benjamin nodded. "Well, eight years ago, I was in America, interviewing members of Congress. My boss was a terrible woman, but she did love gophers." Seeing Benjamin's expression she added, "That is a good thing, a few of my coworkers would throw stones at a stray one someone used to own as a pet, but she yelled at them to stop. She loved yelling too."

"Anyway, she threatened to fire me if I couldn't get some dirt on any representatives. I couldn't lose my job for numerous reasons, Benjamin. That was the highest paying job I could get, and I was barely making ends. I had to live with my grandmother and sister. My sister was born with a number of problems with her health, and required having tons of surgery. My grandmother grew old and had too have surgery too. I had to keep my job, or else we wouldn't have enough money to pay the bills, and we'd have to be kicked out of our home. I was desperate and young, you see. Only 22 years old. I hadn't developed ways of coping under pressure yet, or understood things then. I made up stuff about a senator I met, Tim Cardinal. He wasn't a very kind man, but now when I think of it, he cared about children, just not anyone else."

"So, how did he die?" Benjamin asked, interested.

"Shot himself. I'm not sure why he did it on Christmas Day, that's rather depressing, don't you think?"

"How'd you feel? After you heard what happened?"

"I felt sad. Now, I would have done the same thing over again."

"You would?"

"Yes, if I could help my family, then yes. I don't regret things anymore, Benjamin. What's the point of thinking about unfortunate events that had already happened instead of looking forward to great things to come? You're a good person. Don't waste your life worrying about things you can't change. Make the most of it."

Benjamin was silent.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now. Last night, I had a dream that cats took control of humans and furniture. Good night!" Samantha started to skip away.

"Wait, Samantha?" Benjamin called after her.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

She smiled and hummed to herself as she left. Benjamin grabbed the balcony railing and smiled. He would stand up to Abigail starting tomorrow morning. And he would certainly make sure to get to know Samantha Rachel Stewart a bit more. She may be odd, but she's very interesting. With that thought, he went off to bed.

Meanwhile, a quarter to midnight Eva and Carson Cooper were arguing outside his room on the balcony.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm sorry! But we're in the middle of a crisis here, a man is dead! There's a psychopath somewhere on the island who I bet is going to try to kill us all! You can't hold a grudge right now!"

"But Owen won't kill us all, Carson. We're all going to leave in the morning on the boat and report it to the police."  
"Eva, don't you understand anything?"

"I think I understand a bit more than you do, Carson. I know what you did!"

"You can't prove it. The police think it was an accident."

"Yeah, what if I told them my story? Think they'll be so lenient?"

"Look, what do you-?" Carson stopped dead. He was staring past Evelynne's head.

"What are you looking at?" Evelynne Tresscott saw Samantha Stewart and Benjamin Edwards looking right at them.

"C'mon, inside, now." Carson grabbed Eva's hand and moved inside the room.

Once inside, Eva said, "What if I told them all why you're here? What if I told them, what you did to me? And to Elizabeth?"

"Eva-

"If you don't tell them, I should." Eva interrupted. "It would be for your own good, you know. They would be less scared of you if you told them yourself, instead of finding out from other, er, "sources"."

"Eva, please. I want your word that you won't tell anyone. The guests won't need to know, since we'll all be gone by tomorrow morning, like you said. I really am sorry."

"For what? For me, or for Elizabeth?"

"Both."

"All right. Fine. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you so much, Eva, you're the best."

Evelynne had a strange expression on her face for a few moments, then returned to her trademark sneer.

"Okay, Carson. Just lie to the others, like you've lied all your pathetic life."

She then turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her. She stormed downstairs and crashed into Vanessa, who at that moment came from a door.

"Eva! I'm so sorry! You okay?" Vanessa reached out her hand to help Eva up.

Eva didn't take it. "Do I look okay?" she sneered.

"So…some night, right?" Vanessa said awkwardly.

"Yeah. What were you doing in the dining room?" Eva inquired suspiciously.

"What? Oh, er, I was, um, looking around, for, um, clues for where the voice came from. You know, that read the accusations?" Vanessa stammered.

"At this hour? Why, it must be midnight by now. Couldn't you wait until morning? I expect most people by now are asleep, Vanessa."

"Er, yes, I suppose. But you're not, are you?"

Eva smiled. "I suppose I'm not. I was going to get a drink of water."

"Just don't get any ice."

"Good one. Did you find the source of the mysterious voice?"

"Yes, it was was taped to the middle of the table." Vanessa opened her hand to show an Ipod Nano with duct tape on the back.

"Was it wise to pick it up? Wouldn't that be considered "Tampering with evidence, as the police say?"

"I…don't know."

"Was that it?"

"No, I also noticed something else weird. You know those creepy little figurines on the table. The sailor boys?"

"Yeah. Those were creepy."

"I know, right? There used to be ten of them, but one of them's been cracked off!"

"That is weird."

"I haven't the faintest idea what that means. You?"

"No idea." Eva answered.

Vanessa yawned. "Wow, I'm tired. I'm going to bed. I want to get up early so we can leave as soon as possible. It's so freaky to think of being in the same house as a corpse."

"Good luck with that. Your room's right next to that Professor. Perry, was it? I bet you anything he snores. Probably won't get a wink of sleep all night."

"How'd you know he's next to my room?"

"'Cause, my room's on the other side."

Vanessa giggled. "Goodnight Eva."

"Oh, Vanessa? Sorry if I seemed rude a few minutes ago, I just got a lot on my mind."

"Oh, it's fine." Vanessa started going upstairs.

"Were you outside?"

Vanessa spun around.

"Why?"

Eva gave her a confused look.

"Because there's sand on your shoes."

Sure enough, Vanessa's black flats were sprinkled by grains of wet sand on them.

"Oh, yeah, I was, um, taking a walk. I like walking outside at night. I really should go to bed now."

"Oh, okay. Goodnight Vanessa." Eva called after her, even though it was clear that she wasn't listening.

_**A/N: first of all, thank you all the people who've been reviewing! You're awesome!**_

_**I 'll probably post like once a month, maybe twice. I want to get more in the summer than in the fall, because of school.**_

_**This chapter I wanted to show you a little of a few of the characters' personalities. Next chapter will show more of the others' personalities and their stories. **_

_**Disclaimer: Agatha Chrsitie owns it, not me.**_


	7. 9 Little Sailor Boys Stayed Up Very Late

_**Nine Little Sailor Boys, Sat up Very Late:**_

Vanessa sat on her bed, pulling off her shoes. Her thoughts seemed to be swirling around in her head. This night was so horrible. She just wanted to get away from that one night, never see anything that made her think of Charles, or Ellie or Bea. And of course, Eva just had to be there. As if Vanessa needed more to remind her of that night in college…

_May 8, 2004:_

_ Vanessa stared at the message on her computer screen._

_**Hey Nessa,**_

_** Listen, I'm going to have to break our date again for tomorrow night. I want to go see a movie with Ellie, and even though Ellie likes you, she might get suspicious of us if you always tag along. I would take you to that fancy romantic dinner you like the night after that, but I'm going to take Bea out to her first football game. Even though she's only a toddler, she needs to be interested in sports! **_

_** So maybe someday soon we can get together?**_

_** Love,**_

_** Charles**_

___It was so stupid, having an affair with a married man. Why am I even bothering? Vanessa thought as she logged out. I mean, I love Charles, but his wife and daughter...This is the twelfth time he's broken a date so he can do something nice for them. What's the point of having an affair if you're just going spend all your time with your wife? She wasn't going to put up with this anymore._

_ Vanessa looked down from her bunk bed. Evelynne seemed to be sleeping in the bottom bunk. She had had another fight with her boyfriend, Justin something. She slipped out her dorm room, down the campus stairs, out the door. _

_ The air was cool. The chilly breeze blew her hair into her face. Tucking it into a ponytail, she went into her car and drove off._

_ She arrived at the Lamport House. It was a cheery, cozy, the last place you'd expect for misfortune to occur. It was by a small lake which usually looked beautiful in the daytime. Vanessa noted that Charles's car wasn't in the driveway, but Ellie's was._

_ Vanessa entered the house anyway with her spare key. Maybe she could have a talk with Ellie. As she passed by Bea's room, she froze._

_ There was Bea, playing with a doll. A doll that her parents bought her. Charles always paid more attention to Bea then her. But then, it was Ellie who was the worst. Ellie always got everything. Ellie never suffered. Unlike Vanessa, who had to deal with a dead father at the age of thirteen. Did Ellie ever know what it was like to have your father love your older brother more than you, and him never have any time for you? Did Ellie ever know how it felt to have your father get killed miles and miles away? No, because Ellie is just so perfect, and I'm just second- best. _

_ And then something snapped inside her. How would Ellie feel if she lost someone close to her? If she loved Bea so much, how would she react to having her dead?_

_ She picked up Bea from her arms, and carried her outside. She stopped right before the lake. _

_ "What are you doing, Vanessa?" Ellie walked up behind her. "How'd ya get in? Silly me, I must have left the door open again." She chuckled, unaware of how much danger she was in. _

_ Vanessa didn't answer her. She stood there, quietly and still._

_ "So, watcha gonna do with Bea?" Ellie grinned._

_ "WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO DO, YOU UNGRATFUL LITTLE-?" Vanessa finally cracked. She shouted at the top of her lungs a mix of swears and threats. Ellie was terrified. _

_ "Please, don't hurt Bea! She's just an infant! Vanessa, please! I can get you help! I don't know why you want to hurt Bea or me, but please, calm down! Don't hurt Bea, she's done nothing wrong! Please!" Ellie begged, screaming._

_ Vanessa was in no state to calm down. As rain began to drizzle, she hit Ellie with a nearby rock with a great force, and threw her unconscious body into the lake. She did the same with the crying child. She stared at the lake, that was usually so beautiful, seemed eerily sinister,as though it had sensed something malicious had occurred. _

_ Vanessa couldn't recall driving home, or entering the collage doors. All she remembered as she entered her dorm room was the strong smell of coffee. Or perhaps she imagined it, for Ellen Lamport never went a day without a cup or two…._

Vanessa snapped back into reality. Outside, the environment was exactly like that night…..No. She was imagining it. She wasn't going to let that night ruin the rest of her life…true, Charles hadn't talked to her since then, but that was his problem….Ellie deserved it, and so did her brat too….Bea would grow up just like her, she was nothing like her father…..She never wanted to see Eva again, she had no idea of course, but it just reminded her too much of that night.

So what was going to happen now? Owen knew her secret, was she going to be blackmailed? A man was dead. Vanessa didn't think he was the type to commit suicide, but what did she know? Owen must have killed him, put the poison in his ice…..but wait…..

Wouldn't the ice have melted if Owen put them in his glass before the guests had arrived? And how would he know which glass was Morse's, if that was even who he was trying to kill? Was Morse's death random, could it have been any of the guests who were poisoned? So would that mean that Owen had to slip the ice in right before they ate and the recording…the recording….

Vanessa picked up the I-pod from her bedside table. If she turned in the I-pod Nano to the police, they would hear about her crime. She cursed herself for not realizing that when she told Evelynne about it. What could she do now? She couldn't turn it in, but Evelynne knew about it….

Vanessa suddenly had an idea. She picked up the I-pod Nano, and smashed it with an odd bear-shaped statue. There. Now no one would ever know her crime, or couldn't prove it. Relieved, she continued thinking. Wouldn't someone notice Owen putting the toxin ice into Damien Morse's glass? Vanessa wondered if any of the other guests had thought of that.

Rita Gonzalez was pacing her room up and down. She kept glancing at her watch, muttering Spanish swears under her breath. _12:05...12:15…12:25… _There was no use in trying to sleep yet, she knew she couldn't. Funny, the clock is broken, it's stuck on five minutes to midnight….Not the only one, Rita couldn't stop thinking about the recording. A voice just, just came out of nowhere…. It was Owen, the voice of the devil! How could Owen have known about Rosa? It wasn't _her _fault she slit her wrists and died, was it? It was almost three years ago.

For years she and Rosa were enemies. Three years ago, she was only twenty-seven. So young, and naïve. How could she know that was going to happen? Technically, she never laid a hand on her. She was just hated Rosa for bullying her all through middle and high school, and then stealing her boyfriend away from her in her adult life. Who wouldn't be resentful? She just…wanted to hurt her…so bad….How would she know Rosa had issues? Rita thought that posting her secrets and adding lies about her on the internet in a blog would make her suffer. Really, Rita never expected Rosa having deep self esteem problems.

It's not my fault….she deserved everything she got…..didn't she? Rita pondered as she finally climbed into bed. I have more important things to worry about. Such as this Owen….

Professor Perry sighed and rubbed his head. "A dead man is in just a few rooms away. Back in my day, murder was quite uncommon. Nowadays, all these teenagers were all no good, blackmailing and killing each other. My Bobby was the only exception to all that teenager nonsense. Wait until I get home, I'll have such a tale to tell him and Barbara and Bobby's newlywed wife, Emma! I am far too old to deal with this excitement; I'm fifty-eight years old!" Professor Perry was quite oblivious he had spoken that out loud. His mind was on another day, twenty years ago…

_November 6, 1989:_

_ "No, Nathanial, I will not sell this house and that's final!"_

_ A thirty-eight year old Perry yelled right back. "Mother, you don't understand! You have no idea, this mansion and property is worth a fortune! If you would sell it-"_

_ "I will do no such thing, and that's final." Julia Perry interrupted from her bedside. "I am too weak to argue with you. As long as I'm around, you have no say in the matter. Since your father died-"_

_ "You've been an ungrateful bitch! I've worked two jobs for you, while having to take care of a wife and a newborn baby! All our money goes out to you, to save your bloody life! While you just lay comfortably strapped on a dozen life support machines, we're dirt poor and might be evicted from our house! And do you care? No! As long as you get what you want, you couldn't care less what happened to us! And how dare you demand more money from us, while you could just sell this bloody mansion without lifting a finger! I'm not going to take this rubbish anymore!" Nathanial Perry turned over a chair in a fit of rage._

_ "I ungrateful? What have you been, then, brat?" Mrs. Perry asked coolly._

_ Nathanial Perry pulled three cords for the machines strapped on to his mother out of the wall. She let out gasps until about a minute later, she was dead._

But that day twenty years ago was over. Professor Perry felt no remorse over it. His mother had deserved it, after all. Because of her death, he was able to have a happy life. He was even going to be a grandfather soon! He gazed at a tapestry on the wall, next to the memorial plague. It was some sort of nursery rhyme. The first two lines read, _"Ten Little Sailor Boys went out to dine, One choked his little self and then there were nine."_ How morbid.

Evelynne yawned. It was 12:30, she really needed to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning, don't worry about it. She shouldn't feel bad about killing him, he was a horrible man. Just go to sleep, and don't worry about it….

Ryan Parker was holding a gun. He had picked it up from in a dresser. Well, this would be good protection if Owen comes along for me during the night. The other guests will have to agree, he thought.

Dr. Carson Cooper had nightmares all that night. "Elizabeth….I'm so sorry….Please forgive me." He muttered in his sleep. "Even if…you…affair….I shouldn't…pill…poison…for your headache…sorry…forgive me."

Samantha Rachel Stewart's dreams weren't great either. True, she thought she had no choice, and acted appropriately. On the other hand, she had ruined a man's life. She wished she could get away from the island, but she knew she couldn't. Her time had come. Owen was going to murder everyone on the island. Why else would Owen only kill Morse unless Morse killed himself, which was very unlikely to ever happen. All she could do was just wait for the storm to grow.

Abigail woke up around 8:30 on Saturday morning. She was the only guest who slept peacefully that night, besides Ryan Parker. She was quite relieved to be alive after what happened to that one guy, Moon was it? She was a bit surprised that they hadn't all been murdered in their beds sleeping. Then again, Abigail wasn't one to worry. She took a shower and dressed in a slightly revealing tank top under a sweatshirt and skinny jeans. She walked into the hall and knocked on Benjamin's door. No answer.

"Benny! Open up! It's me, Abby!" Still no answer. After a few minutes of knocking and calling, the door next door opened. Dr. Cooper stepped out.

"What's wrong, Miss Edwards?"

"I think something's wrong with Benny."

Dr. Cooper tried knocking his door and calling. He also went back into his room and tried to access Benjamin's room through the shared bathroom, but the door was locked. He walked back outside and asked Abigail, "Do you have a hairpin? I might be able to pick the lock."

Abigail nodded and fetched a pin from her room. She handed it to the doctor who fumbled with it a few moments before opening the door. What they saw when they walked in made them both freeze, until Abigail let out an ear-piercing scream.

Vanessa walked downstairs after only a few hours sleep. She passed by in the hallway, who nodded at her. As she came down to the dining room, Evelynne and Samantha were there drinking coffee. Ryan popped out of the kitchen holding a pitcher.

"Hey, good morning. Vanessa, right?" He stuck out his arm to shake hands. "I'm Ryan. Want some coffee?"

"Yes. Er, no thanks."

"It's really good Vanessa! You sure?" Eva called from the table.

Vanessa had a sudden strange urge to throttle Eva with the scarf she was wearing. "Yes, I'm quite fine. I'll just have a bit of water."

Eva shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"So when are we leaving?" Samantha asked.

"As soon as everyone's ready. Although I don't fancy going while it's raining. I'll risk it though, due to recent circumstances." Ryan answered.

A shriek broke the silence. As the four of them ran upstairs, Eva exclaimed,

"God, I hope someone else didn't die. Who the hell screamed?"

"I think it was Abigail." Samantha said.

"If she's screaming about a spider or anything like that, I'll break something. Scared the bloody hell out of me." Evelynne muttered, glaring at nothing in particular.

When they arrived upstairs, the rest of the guests were huddled against a doorway.

"What's happening?" Ryan Parker asked.

"There's been another death. I bet it was suicide." Professor Perry informed him.

"W-What? Who?" Ryan Parker pushed past him.

In the bedroom, a sobbing Abigail was sitting on the bed, next to her brother Benjamin Edward's dead body.

_**A/n: Dun-dun-dun!**_

_**Disclaimer: Agatha Christie owns all. All that's mine are these ten characters.**_

_**Thank you so so much to anyone who's reading. I hope you like this chapter!**_

_**P.S. I found a mistake in One Choked His Little Self, see if you can find it! ;)**_

_**It would be really nice to have reviews from everyone's who's reading, so I just know who's reading. Thanks!**_


	8. 1 Overslept Himself, Then There Were 8

_**Chapter 6: One Overslept Himself and Then There Were Eight:**_

The living eight guests stared at the corpse.

"Oh, God, of course! Another dead body! This weekend is turning into a slasher film!" Exclaimed Eva. Abigail gave her a very angry look between her cries.

'How did this happen?" Rita asked.

"By the looks of it, smothered by this pillow." Said Dr. Cooper, bending down and looking into Benjamin's eye.

"Could it have been suicide?" Prof. Perry wondered. "There could be a possibility that Morse and Benjamin both felt guilty about their crimes, and killed themselves, couldn't there be?"

"I doubt it. Men don't usually commit suicide that way." Dr. Cooper remarked.

"HE DIDN"T COMMIT SUCICIDE!" Abigail shrieked shrilly.

"Yes, yes, we quite agree with you, Miss Edwards. Now can you stop screaming, I think you just burst my eardrums, and I might need those if I survive this island, thank you very much." Ryan Parker lowered his hands from his ears. In spite of this, Vanessa giggled. Abigail turned on her.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY NEWTON? I WISH YOU WERE DEAD INSTEAD OF BENNY!"

"Hey, hey, no need for that." Ryan interjected. Vanessa and Abigail continued giving each other furious looks.

"Owen is going to kill us all." Samantha said dreamily.

Everyone gave her unbelievable looks.

"What?" Rita said flatly.

"You know, Shelby-," Ryan started.

"Samantha."

"Right. I'm a bit suspicious of you. First, you point out that poisoned ice which probably killed that Morse guy, then Eva told me before you came down for breakfast that you and Edwards were talking last night, and now he's dead and you're saying we're going to all croak. Not odd at all, I reckon."

"That doesn't really prove anything, Mr. Parker." Said the Professor.

"You think I'm working with Owen?" Samantha asked casually.

"Um, yes." Ryan said less sure of himself.

"Okay."  
"I think, if we don't leave right now, Owen will murder us all. We leave the bodies here, and let the police keep them." Said Eva, interrupting their conversation.

"What do you mean, murder us all? Maybe Owen just had something against those two men." Rita asked.

"Why do you think Owen, whatever their first name is, invited us here and then supposedly murdered two people? Why would he or she make us come along if they were just going to kill those two?"

"NO! Benny was not murdered!" Abigail shouted.

"Okay, so if he wasn't killed and didn't kill himself, then I suppose he dropped dead of a heart attack, didn't he? And Owen must have invited the eight of us for a pleasant holiday, right?" Eva smirked.

"EVERYONE QUIET!" Vanessa screamed. "Look, Abigail, I'm really sorry for your brother, but, let's just go, now! The police will figure it out. I just want to leave now! I hate it here! I believe now that two deaths in a row is too much of a coincidence for it not to be Ulissa Natalie Owen killi-."

"Ulissa Natalie Owen? Wait a minute, I just remembered. I got a phone call from somebody named Uylesses Nico Owen. He said we met at a mutual friend's house or something. Why did two different people invite us then?" Ryan questioned.

"Hey, what about that recording? Did anyone figure out what caused that?" Samantha asked. Eva looked at Vanessa.

"Oh! It was an I-pod Nano. You know, how they have those voice memos on them. Owen used that, I didn't recognize the voice." Vanessa mentally slapped herself for blurting that out loud. How was she going to explain that she stupidly smashed one of the only pieces of evidence against Owen? They were going to suspect her to be up with something. Then suddenly, she had an idea. The I-pod with the recording was white with a grey covering. Her own I-pod was black. She could put the grey covering on hers, and if Eva saw it, she wouldn't suspect anything. She couldn't possibly remember exactly what it looked like, right?"

"You found the source of the recording?" The Doctor exclaimed, surprised. "Where?"

"Under the dining table."

"Then, how did Owen press it?" Rita asked curiously.

"I think Owen might be working with someone." Said Ryan, staring at Samantha, who smiled and waved back at him.

"I think it's a practical joke gone wrong. Morse and Benjamin might have killed themselves, you know." Prof. Perry refused to believe that his life was in danger.

"WHO CARES? LET'S GO, NOW!" Abigail yelled again.

"We have to get dressed first. I'm not sure how seriously the police will take us if most of us are in our pyjamas." Samantha reminded them.

They agreed and expressed their grief for Abigail's loss, and by 10:00 were leaving the house.

The rain whipped down like bullets, as a freezing breeze swirled around the eight survivors. Dr. Cooper was talking rapidly;

"-Shouldn't have even touched the evidence, but no matter. It's raining harder than I thought it would, but we should be fine. Owen won't hurt us once we get off the island. We shouldn't have much of a problem, what time is it anyw-Ow!"

While looking at his watch, he had collided into Ryan Parker who was walking in front of him when he stopped abruptly.

"I say, what-?"

Then he saw what made Ryan stopped.

Their boat was completely wrecked. The GPS was smashed in with a large rock nearby. Their life jackets were slashed to bits. The bottom of the boat was ripped to shreds the way only a machine could do.

No one could speak for a moment. Then Ryan turned to the rest of the shocked visitors, and said;

"Now who thinks Owen is going to kill us all?"  
They couldn't deny it anymore. The ones who had been confused before now had to face it.

They were trapped.

_**A/N: Hope you like this chapter to anyone who's reading! Thank you all for reviewing and reading! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the plot, I just own these characters. **_


	9. 8 Little Sailor Boys Traveling up Devon,

_**: Eight Little Sailor Boys Traveling in Devon, one said he'd stay there…**_

There was a nasty silence. They were shocked. Why would Owen do this? None of them had met a U., and even if they did, why would he or she be trying to kill them?

"Ahh, what do we do now?" Samantha signed.

"This settles it. We're doomed, doomed, doomed-" Abigail shrieked hysterically.

"Calm down, now. Let's try our cell phones again, maybe we'll get lucky."Dr. Cooper reassured her. Unfortunaly, there was still no signal.

"Let's go back in the house and think of a plan. It's freezing out there." Rita said.

The remaining eight guests hurried back into the house soaking wet. Rita got some towels and everyone wrapped the cloth around them as they shivered, trying to think of a way to get back home and avoid being murdered.

"I got it! Let's split up into pairs and search the island for this Owen. He must be hiding somewhere on this island. If we find him we can tie him up and give him to the police when they come." Ryan said enthusiastically.

"One problem. How would we give Owen to the police if we find him?" Rita asked.

"If we don't head back by our weekend's end, the boatmen will send out a boat."

"What if Owen gets us first?" Rita seemed concerned.

"We'll be with partners. Hopefully one of us will be able to get help for the other pair."

The remaining visitors agreed to this plan as wrote down everyone's name on a strip of paper and put it into his hat. Perry picked first.

"Carson Cooper." He read.

"Sounds good, my man!" Dr. Carson shook his hand.

Rita went up next and read out Eva's name. Abigail groaned out Samantha's name as Ryan was left with Vanessa.

"Alright! How about we search around the island looking for Owen for an hour? Then about 11:30 we'll come back here for lunch to see what or whom we've found. I found some whistles in the parlor in a drawer, if we see anything suspicious we can blow on it and alert each other. And don't forger to take your umbrella! We don't want the weather doing the same dirty work as Owen!" said Eva.

In the next few minutes, the group of eight bustled out of the living room with their partner, unaware that by the end of this day it would be a group of seven.

"Eww! That sheep just pooped on me!"

"Actually it's a goat."

"Whatever! You could show a little more sympathy for me, my brother just died and my boots are totally ruined." Abigail whined.

"Sorry." Replied Samantha from behind a bush where she was searching.

"You know, I don't see any sign of anybody but us here."

"Owen must be a really good hider then."

Abigail crossed her arms. "You know, it's been really hard on me this morning. You should be nicer to me."

"Like I said, I'm very sorry. Benjamin was very kind to me. You wouldn't be too horrible if you tried to be pleasant. "

"Excuse me?"

"You know, when I was fifteen I was a shoplifter. Never got caught but I still changed my ways. You could do the same."

"Yeah, well, anyway, Owen's going to pay for this. You know what? I bet he has an accomplice!" Abigail changed the subject.

Samantha stood up. "What's makes you say that?"

"I think the others suspect it too, specially that Ryan bloke. It must be an inside job. I don't see how else he could have done it."

"I guess so." Samantha signed.

"I bet it's Perry. I had him as a teacher, and he was kind of creepy, you know? Who do you think would be Owen's accomplice?"

"The doctor. I'm a journalist, and I was actually at his hearing."

Abigail was suddenly very interested. "Hearing?"

"Yes. He was accused of killing his wife with poisoned medicine. He got off with lack of evidence though." Answered Samantha.

Abigail gave her a curious look. "You know a lot of things Samantha. That could be dangerous." She said in a tone that was impossible to determine whether it was a warning or a threat.

"I just can't believe this, Dr. Cooper. Two dead, one my former student. This stuff just doesn't happen!"

"I know professor. We don't even know if Owen's a man or a woman! Two different names!"

"What if-what if it's both? What if Owen's two people?"

"Aha! So you think there's someone working for him here on the island?" The doctor exclaimed.

"Yes. That Gonzalez woman looks suspicious. You're her doctor, aren't you? What's she like?"

"Rita? She's new. Only been in for a couple of appointments. All I know about her is that she injured her neck a couple weeks ago in a car accident and has to be very careful not to hurt it for a while. I'm more concerned about Miss Newton."

"Oh? What's her name again, Violet?"

"Vanessa. She just seems a bit unstable."

"Yeah, S-" the Professor stopped suddenly, moving away from the wooden shed he was searching.

"What?"

"In the courtyard, there's a huge pile of leaves on the ground."

"So?"

"I don't know. Something about it just seems queer. It's probably nothing."

"I'm telling you Vanessa, that Samantha Stewart is a loony!"

Vanessa giggled. "Don't say that."

Ryan smiled. "She just happens to know how Morse was poisoned, and was last seen with the dead guy before he well, died. I'll bet you my left arm she'll be with the next victim. I'm a bit worried for Abigail Edwards."

"I guess she could be doing Owen's dirty work. I just can't understand why Owen is doing this. I mean, some of us are connected, but not all. Take yourself for example. You have no relation to anyone on this island, do you?"

"Well, I thought one of the name's on that recording sounded familiar. One of Morse's girls. I can't for the life of me remember…" Ryan stopped lost in thought.

"I remember now! Amanda Ofenski! She was my ex-girlfriend in high school! Now that I think about it, she was the one who's in the hospital. Damn. When I get off this island, I'm going to send her some flowers and a card."

"That's sweet of you." replied Vanessa.

"Anyway, who do you think's a creeper?"

"I feel bad for saying this, but I don't trust Eva. I knew her in college, and I remember hearing her get into fights with her boyfriend. She was a bit on the weird side, you know. She would build these freaky little trinkets that you can use as paperweights or whatever. They were so scary, just watching you."

"Don't worry. We'll find Owen and get the police by tomorrow morning. No one else is going to die." Said Ryan, unaware how untrue his statement was.

"I know that Ryan Parker is up to something! He's not good, not good at all!"

"Really? He doesn't seem as though he's assisting Owen. I think Abigail is the most likely." Eva answered.

"Why would she kill her brother? What could she gain?" questioned Rita.

"People kill their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers all the time. Maybe she's a psychopath who just likes killing."

"I doubt it. She's a very stupid woman! I know Ryan Parker! He's a very bad man!"

"I thought Ryan didn't know anybody on the island, so how could you know him?"

Rita blushed. "I, um, didn't know him personally. "I, uh, knew one of his victims."

Eva perked up. "What? How?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Oh, well, that's fine. Hopefully another pair found Owen, since we came up with nothing. Let's head back to the house."

The four pairs met back at the house around noon. None of them had gotten any clues whatsoever. Samantha and Rita prepared a lunch of soup and salad, then they all sat down to discuss their dilemma.

Dr. Cooper spoke first, "The Professor and I-"

Abigail interrupted, "I made the discovery and Stewart agreed with me-"

Ryan interjected, "Vanessa and I think that Owen has an accomp-"

Rita announced, "Someone's working for Owen here! One of us!"

Eva broke in, "Wouldn't it make more sense of us to _be _Owen?"

There was a shuffling as everyone but Samantha and Rita pushed their soups and salads that Samantha and Rita made away from them. Rita was not pleased.

"Honestly! There's nothing wrong with las ensaladas o las sopas!" Rita muttered under her breath. Samantha just stared at everyone.

"I suggest we should each prepare our own meals from now on." The Professor said nervously.

"Yeah, just in case." Ryan added.

"It all makes sense now! No one's hiding except in plain sight! One of us in this room is the killer!" Eva shouted.

"That was dramatic." Ryan whispered to Vanessa.

"I think Eva's correct. We need to think of a way to contact the police immediately." Said Dr. Cooper.

"How though?" Abigail asked.

"I know! Let's make a bonfire!" Samantha beamed.

Everyone stared at her.

"You know what Stewart, that would be a great idea, if, oh, I don't know, it wasn't pouring down rain at the moment." Replied Eva.

Vanessa thought. "Tomorrow it's supposed to stop. Maybe we could…..oh, wait, how can we though, everything's wet…."

The group thought and thought, but every possible solution was shot down by Eva's snarks or Abigail's whines or Samantha's whistling, until finally they agreed to wait until an emergency boat arrived.

The rest of the day was spent with the guests wandering around the house. They agreed it was best to stay inside. The Doctor and the Professor played chess while chatting about their careers, while Abigail had seemed to forgot that her brother had been smothered by a pillow just that morning. She was painting her nails and critiszing all the women's clothes to Samantha, who had dozed off curled on the couch. Rita and Evelynne were in a heated discussion to which was better, rap or heavy metal as Ryan and Vanessa were becoming very friendly in the library away from everyone. The thing all these "strangers" had in common was that they were temporarily trying to forget what had happened, and what will come.

Around five, the guest split up, getting ready for dinner. In the hustle in bustle of the crowded kitchen, while most were preparing their own dinner, it was quite easy for two people to slip out the door and one to slide back in without anyone noticing.

As they seated, Vanessa realized something was wrong.

"Wait." She said. "Where's Samantha?"

'Probably off in Cukoo Land. Seriously, am I the only one who doesn't like her?" asked Ryan.

"Nah. I hate her clothes. She should know that corduroy plaid pants underneath a striped jumper with a bright yellows blouse and sunglasses doesn't look good on anyone." Said Abigail snobbily.

"She's alright. Kind of a weirdo." Eva said.

"You're one to talk, Evelynne. I don't understand how anyone looking like a member of the undead can find that attractive." Eva glared at Abigail before Vanessa spoke up.

"Hey guys, don't pick fights. We have enough problems. Did anyone notice those figaurines on the table?"

"What about them?" Perry asked.

"There used to be ten of them, but now there are only seven. Three look as though they've been broken off."

"Odd. What's taking Miss Stewart so long?" the doctor wondered.

"She's probably talking to herself again. Seriously, when we were out she wouldn't shut up." Whined Abigail.

A few more minutes past before Rita stood up and swore in Spanish.

"That's it! I've had a horrible day and I'm starving. I'm not waiting anymore for that girl! I'll go get her!"

The other guests agreed to wait for them to come back. While they waited, they discussed Owen some more and how he would have known them, to their shock they all realized that they were all somewhat connected to each other, except Ryan and Damien Morse had no relations to the others. Eva remembered what Rita had said about Ryan, and thought that Ryan had a connection with Morse, and Rita had had an experience with a victim, and thus making them all distantly joined. She did not speak of what Rita had slipped out, for she felt she would be betraying her trust.

When Rita came in however, she did not look well. She stood there for a moment, then collapsed into a heap on the cold tiled floor, sobbing and screaming.

"What happened?" the doctor shouted. Rita just pointed to the door, continuing her shrieks.

The doctor and Ryan Parker ran outside. Eva put her arm around Rita much to Vanessa's surprise. She hadn't remembered Eva to be so compassionate. She went to join her as Professor Perry went to give her his tea while Abigail sat there, stunned and bewildered to what could have happened.

The two men walked back in the dining room a few minutes later. They were both pale as snow and were shaking uncontrollably.

"What happened? Is Samantha okay?" asked Vanessa.

"No, No, she's not. She's-oh, God, I'm going to throw u-" And with that, Ryan sprinted like lightning to the nearest bathroom. They turned to the doctor, who looked queasy himself.

"It-It was very gruesome. I don't recommend any of you to go into the courtyard. There's a trap out there. It's so insane, it's just….There was a pile of leaves out there before, Perry and I saw, but we didn't go near…Apparently when you stepped on those leaves, there was some sort of pit that you'd fall into. Whoever built it wasn't right in the head, the time it must have took…Anyway, there was some short of a large metal tray on the bottom. Attached to the slab was spikes. Very sharp spikes. I think Samantha was pushed. It quite looks as though she suffered quite a bit, seeing as one had kind of poked through her eye, and…I'll stop talking now." He said noticing all the nauseated looks the guests were wearing. "Ahem, I'm going to need a very strong drink now. Miss Gonzalez, are you alright?"

Rita had stopped crying, but still looked far from alright. She nodded.

"This settles it. Samantha was right. We're not going to leave this island alive."

As much as the several guests wished it was all a dream, they couldn't deny that death had never felt closer to them.

_**A/N: Finally this chapter is done! I'm probably going to be updating once a month, since teachers think we have no life apparently. I have ideas for the next chapters. The guests will discover the 1939 murders soon! Please review, even though I know the fandom for ATTWN isn't a lot, it still means a lot. **_

_**Disclaimer: I said it before, I said it again. AC owns it. Not moi.**_


	10. And Then There Were Seven

_**And Then There Were Seven:**_

Saturday night was miserable.

The seven remaining guests cast suspicious glances at each other every few seconds, then turning away once they were noticed. They all stayed in the parlor, each guest leaving one at a time for little things. They sometimes discussed the day and recapped what they were sure of: They were all connected to each other, (which Rita told everyone she knew Cole Weiss, one of Ryan's victims, but wouldn't say how,) and that one of them was Owen. Owen would most likely kill everyone on the island for an unknown reason. But mostly they kept to themselves, thinking. When it was time to go to bed they barricaded their doors with all the furniture they had access too.

_Hey you and me, not so pretty_

_All the world I've seen before me passing by_

_Silent my voice, I've got no choice_

_All the world I've seen before me passing by_

Eva switched into video camera mode on her I-pod.

"Hi Gram. It's Eva. Right now it's Saturday, August 9th, 10:00 pm. I hope you'll see this video if necessary. I love you. You were the one person who never let me down. You're the only one who never wronged me. You're there when I'm way out of my league. The reason I'm making this is because I'm frightened. I am just so, so terrified. Three people have died. I don't know when the next boat will come, but there's a good chance I could be dead before then. I know you have to put up with stuff about me from the neighbors. I'm not guilty of Justin's murder though, Gram. I'm sorry that his mom and dad hate you now because of me. I'm sorry that they couldn't realize their son was a tool. What I'm sorry about the most is that if I die, you'd be alone. I promise you that if I do, I'll die innocent and with dignity, just like you always wanted to. So I guess what I'm trying to say is goodbye."

Vanessa sat back on her bed feeling bewildered. Why did Eva just come to her room crying and tell her that she killed Justin Kyndall?

Dr. Carson Cooper was sobbing. "Damn her! I can't do this! I can't!"

"Yes you can Carson. Do it for me?" the woman purred, rubbing his shoulders.

"Goddamit Elizabeth! I love you! I'm so sorry! I never should have done it!"

"Did you? Did you really? You're pathetic. Weak. Joseph was such a better man than you. I wonder why you didn't kill him too?"

"He was too strong. He didn't trust me."

"Exactly. You're weak. You should do it Carson. Prove you're not just a jealous bastard and do it!"

Dr. Cooper collapsed to the floor, alone.

Professor Nathanial Perry looked at the letter in his hand.

_I know who the killer is_

_I can't tell you here. I know they're watching us._

_Meet me at the wood shed tomorrow after breakfast at 8:00_

_-You know who _

Perfect.

"Can you pass me the coffee?" asked Dr. Cooper.

"Here you go." Said Professor Perry.

"I wouldn't take it Doctor. You could be next." Glared Abigail, arms folded.

"Never before did passing a pot of coffee around the table seem so dangerous." Joked Ryan. Vanessa and Eva laughed and even Carson chuckled.

"At least it's not raining. Maybe the boat will come today." Rita remarked. It was obvious she didn't actually believe it.

"So, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine Ryan. What about you? You saw poor Samantha." Vanessa replied.

"Okay. I feel terrible about what I said about her earlier. But I can't stay sad or angry for long, or else I think I'd go mad."

"I guess you're right. Maybe I should just relax and not think about it."

They were in the library again. Vanessa was halfheartedly looking at the numerous titles on the shelves while Ryan was leaning on a nice piano.

"I took piano in primary school. Maybe I've still got it. May I serenade you?"

"I hardly think this is the appropriate time."

"C'mon love! Being all mopey isn't going to change the fact that your impending doom is almost upon us! So what bands do you like?"

"Hmm…Muse, David Bowie, the Young Veins, Panic! At the Disco, Never Shout Never, The Beatles-"

"Beatles! Thank God! I know a couple of their songs. Okay, um…let's see.."

"Woah!" a pile of books fell on top of Vanessa's foot.

"You okay?"

Vanessa picked up a hard covered book from the ground. She looked at the title and screamed.

The Shipwreck Island Murdersstared back at her.

_**A/N: DUN DUN DUN. I'm back after September! I'm SO SO SORRY FOR BEING SO LAZY. Yeah, this chapter is kind of short. I wanted to get something out there though. Thanks for the reviewers and lurkers and sorry I made you wait!**_

_**Anyway, the song lyrics from the beginning are from ATWA-System of a Down. Which is an amazing band. I listen to music while I'm writing. It's inspiring. And ATTWN of course belongs to the Mistress of Mysteries, Agatha Christe.**_


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